From the void, several ninja materialized near Han Dao Jian Mi Tu Dong. With a sharp whoosh, the figure's glare cleaved the two women in mid-air into more than a dozen pieces. A fountain of blood sprayed out, and a few ninjas frantically scooped up the heavily wounded and unconscious Ji Zang Si, retreating urgently toward the ancient fortress.

Gu Xiechen watched the sudden turn of events, his senses reeling. He couldn't help but applaud loudly. "Magnificent, truly magnificent. You certainly know how to command your subordinates. This internal conflict—it's inexplicable, yet absolutely brilliant. Heh, did you invite me here just so I could witness such a splendid display of dogs tearing at each other?"

Silence reigned inside the ancient fortress for a long moment. Gu Xiechen looked up, observing the sturdy, dark-clad men standing behind the few upper-story windows, all looking at each other in bewilderment. Clearly, the surprise attack on Ji Zang Si by his own people had completely thrown them off balance.

A full minute passed before the deep, muffled voice sounded again. "This is internal sect business, irrelevant to you. Gu Xiechen, you have a good friend here waiting to see you. Once you’ve settled your pleasantries with him, then I’ll deal with you!"

Accompanied by heavy, measured footsteps, a powerfully built elder, majestic as a lion, emerged slowly from the fortress. He carried a massive shield, nearly a meter and a half tall, and a greatsword almost two meters in length. The old man possessed high, prominent brow ridges, and within his deep-set eye sockets, two dark grey irises gleamed with a fierce, savage cold light that struck fear into any observer. The elder stood at least two meters tall, clad only in a narrow strip of leather loincloth, **exposing a physique of immensely developed, powerful musculature. As the elder moved, the muscle masses across his body constantly swelled and rolled.

"GU! XIE! CHEN!"

The elder roared Gu Xiechen’s name syllable by syllable, his voice a sharp snarl. "I will slaughter you!"

Like a clap of thunder splitting a clear sky, the elder roared once and violently swung the longsword in his hand, bringing it down upon Gu Xiechen with crushing force. The two-meter greatsword was shrouded in a thick, bloody aura, and a blade-light projection—nearly a meter long—whistled from the tip, lunging at Gu Xiechen like a vicious dragon.

With a slight pivot of his steps, Gu Xiechen easily sidestepped the thunderous strike. The blade-light swept across the ground, carving a long, arcing gash over ten meters in length. CRACK! With a deafening sound, the sword mark sank several meters deep into the earth, the residual violent energy exploding beneath, causing the entire ancient fortress to shudder.

"Who are you?"

The longsword swung toward Gu Xiechen again. He leaped lightly, his toe brushing the edge of the longsword as he slid, his body flowing like a willow catkin down the blade toward the elder. From above, he brought his foot down toward the elder's face. With a massive impact, the air before his toes suddenly ruptured with a white wave of energy. Had this kick landed solidly, the elder's face would have been flattened like a plank.

The elder roared in fury and lunged, lightly swinging his left hand. The heavy tower shield settled firmly into place before his face. After a clang like a giant bell booming, Gu Xiechen’s kick left a three-inch-deep indentation on the shield, which was nearly a foot thick. Using the impact for leverage, he flipped upward and drove a punch down. Suddenly, the elder’s greatsword erupted, sending dozens of blood-red blade projections, several meters long and accompanied by loud roars, sweeping upward into the air. Gu Xiechen cursed, hastily changing his fist to a claw. Streams of cold energy shot from his five fingers, and dozens of claw strikes collided squarely with the blood-red blade projections.

Cold energy suffused the air, and the wave of heat contained within the sword projections spread outwards. The clash of cold and heat instantly generated a massive cloud of white mist, enveloping both Gu Xiechen and the elder. The surroundings were filled with the tremendous noise of claws meeting blade-light, leaving both men temporarily sightless and deafened. Instinctively, they each unleashed a brutal blow against the perceived location of the other.

The heavy tower shield slammed directly into Gu Xiechen’s body, launching him over a hundred meters into the air. The force contained within the shield was immense. Gu Xiechen felt as if a small mountain had been brought down upon his head, his internal organs aching from the violent shock, a surge of heat rising into his throat. He barely managed to keep from spitting blood.

A flash of cold light cut through the white mist, followed by a cry of pain from the elder. Blood sprayed forth, and the elder staggered out of the fog. Three ice spears, each nearly a meter long, were embedded in his torso—his left shoulder, right arm, and left leg were pierced with three translucent holes. Large volumes of blood jetted out; the elder’s physiology was incredibly resilient, and with his body already in violent motion, blood streamed from the three wounds like rushing streams.

THUD. Gu Xiechen landed heavily, both feet connecting with the ground.

Hoo. The elder drew a long breath. He tightened his dan power, and his muscular mass, developed to a near-inhuman degree, managed to staunch the flow from the three fist-sized wounds completely.

Giving the elder a chilling glare, Gu Xiechen grinned wickedly. "Ji Zang Si has issues with me; I suppose I eliminated a few of his clansmen on Paradise Star. But what grievance do you have with me, sir?"

The elder roared with rage. Dense white fur began to sprout rapidly across his body. His bones gradually stretched and deformed, and his ears slowly jutted outward. As his physical form underwent this rapid metamorphosis, the elder's voice grew hoarse and unpleasant, like two stones grinding together. He mumbled indistinctly, "You killed my only son! You must die!"

In a mere three to five seconds, a white werewolf nearly three meters tall stood before Gu Xiechen. The werewolf’s upper body was slightly hunched, his crimson eyes locked tightly onto Gu Xiechen. Saliva dripped constantly from his gaping maw. The claws on his limbs had grown over two feet long; when the silver-white talons scraped the ground, they sparked violently, clearly proving them to be weapons harder than tempered steel. The White Wolf spat heavily and growled low, "I am Wagusi, the elder brother of Valeri’s father, that son of a bitch coward, that scoundrel!"

Raising his right claw, Wagusi traced a bizarre pattern in the air and grinned cruelly. "Of course, I have another identity. I am an Executive Elder of the Earth Federation's Non-Human Racial United Council, and concurrently, a council member of the East Siberian Assembly!"

Gu Xiechen’s heart sank slightly. An Executive Elder of the Non-Human Racial United Council? That title was only slightly less troublesome than a Cardinal of the Vatican Church. The East Siberian Assembly, on the other hand, was a violent organization comprised of crude, barbaric types; over ninety percent of their members hailed from physically dominant, warlike races like the Werewolves.

However, the most vexing title was that of the Executive Elder of the United Council, which represented the interests of all non-human races within the Earth Federation, including powerful factions like Vampires, Werewolves, and Romen Hybrids. Even the most conservative and insular Asian Daoist Alliances secretly held various positions occupied by cultivators of demon lineage.

Valeri's father—such a headache-inducing figure? Gu Xiechen truly felt his brain beginning to throb.

"Heh heh!" A long string of drool dripped from Wagusi’s mouth as he fixed his gaze on Gu Xiechen and sneered, "Enough talk. I want to eat your heart! As one of the high priests of the Wolf God Temple, consuming the heart of my enemy grants me strength and vitality! The heart of a warrior like you might even stimulate my life force, allowing my mate and I to conceive another child!"

A human heart can be used as a stimulant.

Comrades, are you energized yet?